Confessional Friday

I'm linking up with "A Blonde Ambition" for the first time for "Confessional Fridays!"

1. I haven't run since Saturday (ran a 10K and still recovering from it) My half marathon is May 20th. I feel very guilty about having taken so many days off, but honestly, I've also kinda loved it! Hoping to get in a quick run tonight before bed.

2. We're leaving on a 13-hour road trip tomorrow for North Carolina to visit some dear friends who we haven't seen since their Key West wedding in October!

Such a fun destination wedding!!

As much as I love a good road trip, I'm dreading being in a car for that long! I'm hoping the scenery along the way will help pass the time :)

3.  My Starbucks addiction is getting a little out of control. I think I need an intervention. Now that the warmer weather is almost here, I'm going to try and just drink water or maybe iced green tea (homemade) But it's just so gosh-darn yummy!!!

4. I have not had a pedicure in a very, very long time (read: 6 months) The weather in NC this weekend is supposed to be HOT! Which means I will not be suffocating my feet in closed-toed shoes. Need to remedy this ASAP!

Ok, I think that's all. Happy Friday! Don't forget to link up at "A Blonde Ambition" 

My new favorite moisturizer

I've been using this stuff for less than a week and I am already seeing amazing results! It just makes my skin look so much more alive! (does that make sense?) The scent reminds me of suntan lotion/a tropical vacation and the formula is light and non-greasy. I like that it gives me just the right amount of shine, because a lot of other oil-free products I've used make my face look way too matte.

The SPF 20 is another added bonus! 

I bought it at Target for around $14, but I'm sure you can find online a bit cheaper. 

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Linking up at http://www.littledaisymay.blogspot.com/ on this last Wednesday of March.

Here's what I'm loving today:

My running shoes (Asics Cumulus 12)

I bought them at the Rhode Runner store in Providence - the staff there was very friendly and helpful! I will definitely go back in the future when it's time to upgrade these shoes!

This lip gloss from Urban Decay

It came with my Naked 2 palette and it's the perfect little size to take anywhere.

These frozen veggie blends from Green Giant:

I mix them with some brown rice and voila - a quick, healthy dinner. They say there's 2 servings in there, but it's pretty small, and I have no problem eating the whole package by myself. 

That's what I'm loving today!

Mad Men

No, this isn't a spoiler post about last night's episode - I haven't even seen the premiere of Season 5 yet (we gave up cable a year and a half ago)

However, in anticipation of the upcoming season I rewatched the first episode of Season 1 and the last episode of Season 4. I forgot how much I love Don Draper!! It was really interesting to see how much the cast has changed in the past 5 years, too.

Anyone else a Mad Men fan??

Great mascara, but not for me :(

So I recently purchased Cover Girl's latest mascara - Lash Blast 24 Hour

The first time I used it - I loved it! Great volume, separation, etc. I thought to myself "This is my new go-to mascara - yay!"

Until later on that day, when I noticed my eyes were itchy, irritated and painful.

Now, at first, I didn't make the connection that it was the mascara. I thought my contacts were the culprit. So I popped in a new pair a few days later.

My eyes were still feeling dry and itchy by the end of the day.

So I did an experiment and used my Maybelline one-by-one mascara instead.

Ta-da! No itchy eyes, no irritation!

But I'm so sad, because I really, really loved this CG stuff.... Has anyone else (contact lens users) tried this and had similar issues??

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Yes, I've been a bad blogger...life has been uber busy (when is it not??) Lots of stuff happening at school & home and just not enough time to blog :(

We've had some unseasonably warm weather up here in New England for the past few days - tomorrow is supposed to be in the 80s! Love it!

Ok, so onto today's topic. Here are some things I'm loving today!

John Freida Clear Shine Luminous Glaze

I'm pretty sure my friend Holly has blogged about this stuff before. Every time I see it in a store, I immediately think of the rave reviews she gave it. Well, it was onsale at Ulta few weeks ago so I snagged a bottle and have tried it twice. 

This stuff is amazing! It doesn't weigh down my hair, it makes blow drying/straightening SO much easier and it helps to brighten my blonde highlights too. I've only tried it in the shower on wet hair, but it says you can use it on dry hair (before you shower) as well.

Essie's "Go Overboard" is what I'm wearing on my nails today. It's definitely a little more blue than the picture above. A really fun blue-teal color!

Love my Camelbak! I have it in the purple shown and it really has helped me drink more water (as the sticker says on the side!) I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the straw contraption, but after the first couple of sips, I was hooked! So much more convenient than having to unscrew the whole cap to take a drink.

I've been in love with this salad dressing for almost 2 years now and as soon as the weather starts to warm up, I bust out a bottle for my salads because it's such a refreshing taste! I've also had their ranch dressing which is pretty tasty!

Ok, that's it for today - gotta ease back into this whole blog thing :)

Naked Palette 2

Just ordered this from Sephora (Thanks Sooze for the giftcard!) I've heard mixed reviews about the colors/packaging, but I have the first Naked palette and love it so much, I just had to get the 2nd one, too!

I can't wait to try out the brush - I love that it's dual ended. And the lip gloss looks very cute!

New Year, New Resolutions

And one of them is to update this blog more often!!!

Ugh, between the holidays and a relaxing vacation, I just had no desire to blog..

Here's what's on my mind today:

- I love our new sectional! We bought it over vacation and it just makes the room feel so much more inviting!

It was delivered on my husband's birthday, so of course I had to take a picture of him lounging on it :)

-I've been watching "The Wonder Years" on Netflix and I'm on the last season - so sad for it to end :( Such a great show - I never watched it back in the day because I was a little too young to get all the subject matter

- I was at Ulta over vacation and picked up this new cleanser and I love it!!

I was using Proactiv for the past month, but it's just not cutting it for me, so on a whim I picked up this Enzyme Cleansing Gel (the trial size for $7). You only need a little bit for it to work, so I'm hoping this bottle will last me a long time. The scent is very fresh, too.

- I'm also loving the latest Essie color I picked up:

Note: That is not my hand!

It's called Master Plan and it's a really nice, cool grey - perfect for winter!

Ok, that's it for now - here's a cute picture of my dog - I can't believe he's almost 8 months old!!

Post-Thanksgiving Food/Shopping Coma

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!

We enjoyed a lovely meal, just the 2 of us - it was much needed! - at a lovely little restaurant in downtown Providence, Mill's Tavern

The Thanksgiving menu was fantastic and we enjoyed a lovely turkey dinner along with some yummy appetizers/dessert:

Vermont Cheddar and Harpoon “Octoberfest” bisque with house smoked kurabota ham hock and poached quail egg

Point Judith Calamari crusted in Kenyon's white cornmeal with spinach, aged balsamic vinaigrette and quince chutney 

(I had to google quince because it tasted like apple but not exactly)

 

Herb Roasted Turkey Roulades 
with giblet gravy, Kenyon's white cornbread, house-made sausage stuffing, pineapple-cranberry relish, buttered green beans, red bliss mashed
and carrot-sweet potato mashed

 Vermont Maple Crème Brûlée
Fig-pear butter, vanilla crème fraiche,
oatmeal pecan shortbread


Loved this little pewter creamer!

I didn't realize how popular it was to dine out on Thanksgiving! We had 2:30 reservations and didn't get seated until about 3 because it was so busy. So we grabbed drinks at the bar and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was well worth the wait!

Later that evening/the next morning, I ventured out with a good friend to see what this Black Friday madness was all about. Um, definitely not something I will ever partake in again! I did grab a few things on sale at Old Navy, Target, and Best Buy, but honestly it wasn't worth staying out til 6 AM! One of the Targets we went to was ridiculous: lines wrapped around the inside of the store, customers navigating multiple carts overflowing with TVs and other electronics, policemen dealing with all of the chaos both inside and out of the store.  We drove to the next town's Target which was considerably less crowded and grabbed a few things before our next top - Old Navy.  We were probably some of the first 100 people in line, but unfortunately did not get to the doors early enough (thanks to some confusion about what time the mall was opening!) to snag a free digital camera. Oh well! I did get a great deal on this coat, tho:

It's just the right length and has a nice fit - I love the cuffs too!

I spent the rest of the weekend catching up on sleep and being lazy on the couch with my laptop watching episodes of "The Wonder Years" - it was perfect!

Now, back to the daily grind, counting down the days til Christmas vacation! (20 - ugh!) 

Oh - I almost forgot! I tried this recipe from SkinnyTaste over the weekend and it was a big hit with my husband:

 

I probably should have remembered to serve it with sour cream/Greek yogurt - oops! It was still yummy tho and very easy to make. Can't wait to use my Crock Pot again.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Yay for 2 days in a row of blogging!

Here's what I'm loving on this rainy Wednesday (I feel bad for places in Northern NE that are getting snow today!!!)

1. As much as I love preparing a Thanksgiving meal, I am loving that I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to start cooking a turkey, pies, stuffing, etc.  Brandon and I decided to go to a nice restaurant in Providence (just the 2 of us!) instead! The restaurant is located in the historic Pilgrim Mill's Building (how fitting, right?) and the menu looks amazing - I will definitely be posting pics/reviews on Friday!

2. I am also loving my Batiste Dry Shampoo (Light & Blonde)

 

I'm sure I've raved about this before, but it has been my go-to product these days when I'm rushing around. Great scent, leaves my hair feeling so refreshed!

3. I started using Proactiv again (tried it about 5 years ago but my forehead broke out in weird little bumps) and I'm noticing a HUGE difference in my skin! 

My skin feels amazing all day long and I started seeing results after only 3 days! Yay!!

Ok, just gotta get through one more class then I'm officially on Thanksgiving break!

Target Tuesdays!

I know it's been waaaay too long since my last post - I am really going to try and make a conscious effort to blog more often, now that my schedule is a little less hectic!

On a recent trip to Target I grabbed this super-soft sweater:

Click here 

I threw it on today for school and it's perfect! I like thin sweaters because my schools are usually pretty warm and that way I can throw on another layer if I get cold. These are on sale for $9.99 thru Sunday (usually $17.99) I am definitely going to order some more online so I can get the colors/size I need. I just gotta make sure I don't shrink these because they are the perfect fit!

Some other colors I'm debating:

 Cream/Ebony

 Heather Blue

Heather Orange

I also snagged another pair of the Ona flats (I have them in black and tan patent)

Click here 

These are a really pretty purple and I can't wait to wear them on Thanksgiving!

This dress caught my eye and I just had to have it:

Click here 

Especially since it could be worn in the spring/summer, too with some fun sandals!

I wore it yesterday with grey patterned tights and my black Ona flats (like the ones above)

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

It's been too long since I participated in this blog hop!

Here's what I'm loving today:

Super comfy sweater from Target: click here

the pink is a little less purple in real life

New pants for school from Ann Taylor loft - perfect fit (Julie) and so comfy

(Top: denim color, Bottom: dark chocolate)

I've been drinking this stuff non-stop for the past few weeks! 

I like the original flavor better then the lemon echinacea

And that's what I'm loving this week!

Target Tuesdays!

Yay it's Tuesday!!!!!

I actually have not to been to Target in many weeks (I think this is a record for me!) but I hoping to go tonight to grab some groceries and take a peek at some fall/cold weather clothes. Today I'm rocking some of my favorite Target pieces:

I bought this cardigan months ago, but I'm wearing it today, paired with a grey jersey dress, black leggings and these black flats:

I also have these flats in tan, and while it took a couple of wears to break them in, they are definitely going to be my favorite fall shoe!

Speaking of fall footwear, I ordered these boots a few weeks ago on Target.com because of the many rave reviews. However, being 5'8", they only came up to my mid-calf and they just didn't look right. I was so upset, because I loved the style/color:

So I'll be returning this and starting my search again for the perfect brown boot!

Or, perhaps I'll use my refund to buy:

or:

or:

(which I posted about here!)

I have to say, fall is definitely one of my favorite seasons...don't get me wrong - I love me a good sundress and flip flops, but there's just something about the autumn air, changing leaves and cute fall clothes that get me really excited!!

What are you craving from Target lately?? Don't forget to link up at Tara's blog: www.fabulousbutevil.com